New Lenox Man Found Guilty For 2nd Time In Mokena Bar Brawl Case

NEW LENOX, IL — A New Lenox man has been found guilty for a second time in a Mokena bar brawl case from 2009 that left a Tinley Park man with a traumatic brain injury, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune.

Joseph Messina, now 33, was found guilty Tuesday after a jury deliberated for 11 hours over two days, according to the Tribune report. Messina was convicted of two counts aggravated battery against Eric Bartels, of Tinley Park, according to the report. Messina could get a prison term of two to five years or 30 months probation for the aggravated battery charges.

The 2009 bar brawl case that originated at now-closed 191 South in Mokena has long been fraught with controversy.

According to Patch reports from the time, Messina and five friends had gone to 191 South to celebrate his 21st birthday. The brawl later broke out outside the bar, where Messina reportedly punched Bartels, knocking him to the ground. Messina then straddled Bartels' body, punched him in the face again and then "raised his arms above his head in victory," a witness testified during Messina's first trial.

Bartels suffered a fractured skull and brain damage.

Related:

• New Lenox Man Guilty in Coma Punch Case, Family Rails Against System
• Joseph Messina Gets Probation in Coma Punch Case
• Guilty Verdict Reversed in Mokena Bar Brawl Coma-Punch Case

Messina was given 30 months of probation at his original sentencing in 2013 after being convicted of three counts of aggravated battery. He was also ordered at the time to pay Bartels' mother $20,000 of his bail money, pay her $630 a month for the 30 months he was on probation, refrain from drinking and complete 250 hours of community service, according to reporting by Patch at the time.

But Messina's 2013 guilty verdict was reversed by an appellate court in 2015. That verdict was reversed based not on the evidence presented at the 2013 trial but, rather, on the way a Will County judge handled an email she received from the state's attorney's office after she handed down her guilty verdict, according to a Patch report at the time.

A state’s attorney officer sent Will County Judge Sarah Jones an email with the subject line “Messina case,” and stated: “Judge Jones, (State’s Attorney) Jim (Glasgow) wanted you to see a copy of his statement that went out regarding the Joseph Messina case,“shortly after her 2013 ruling. Jones said she never read the email or the attached press release, but failed to notify Messina’s attorneys about it until two months later. That led the appellate court to send the case back for retrial in 2015.

A hearing for post-conviction motions, including Tomczak's request for a new trial, are set for Feb. 17, according to the Tribune. Messina's now second sentencing is scheduled for March 4, the Tribune reported.

See the Chicago Tribune for the full story.

For more news and information like this, subscribe to the New Lenox Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!